Use of the internet with students in Knjazevac

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Safe internet is characterized by mental and physical protection of people on the internet. Internet addiction is a clinical disorder with strong negative effects on social, working, family, financial and economic functioning of a personality. The aim of this paper is to show the prevalence of internet use among young people in primary and secondary schools in Knjaževac. Materials and methods: The survey was conducted in February 2014. It was anonymous and carried out by Dr Dragana Mitrović. The survey was created by Dr Dragana Mitrović, a trainee doctor in paediatrics, a member of the Youth Counselling Department, similar to the survey used in the research of Dr Branislava Stanimirov, a paediatrician from Novi Sad. 316 students were surveyed in Knjaževac, aged 13-16, by the method of random sampling. The survey consisted of 11 questions. The mean age was 14. Results and discussion: 99.37% use the internet (99.40% boys and 99.32% girls). 64.87% (61.31% boys and 68.92% girls) spend more than an hour on the internet, 26.90% students (28.57% boys and 25% girls) spend 30-60 minutes on the internet, 7.60% of the children (9.52% boys and 5.40% girls) spend less than 30 minutes, while only 0.63% of students (0.60% boys and 0.68% girls) do not spend their time on the internet. 82.59% of the children use the internet every day (81.55% boys and 83.78% girls), 16.46% of the children use the internet a few times a week (17.26% boys and 15.54% girls), 0.32% of the children use the internet on a monthly basis (0.32% boys and 0% girls),but only 0.63% never use the internet (0.60% boys and 0.67% girls). 30.38% of the children do not sleep at night regularly (27.98% boys and 33.11% girls), 22.78% neglect school responsibilities (29.76% boys and 21.62% girls). 15.19% of respondents neglect family responsibilities (16.01% boys and 14.19% girls). 92.41% of the children have a Facebook profile (91.61% boys and 93.24% girls). 60.76% have a profile on Facebook (66.07% boys and 54.73% girls), and 31.65% of the children have profiles on Facebook and several other social networks (25.60% boys and 38.51% girls). 54.75% of the children go in for sports recreationally or professionally (69.05% boys and 67.26% girls). The internet has caused new friendships for 66.46% students (67.26% boys and 65.54% girls). Most students, 84.49% use the internet for entertainment (86.31% boys and 82.43% girls), 15.51% of students use the internet for learning (13.09% boys and 17.57% girls). 49.37% of the respondents spend their free time on the internet (46.43% boys and 46.62% girls), 16.77% of students spend their free time doing sport (23.81% boys and 8.78% girls), 22.15% of the children spend their free time with friends and family (19.05% boys and 25.68% girls), 3.48% of the children watch television (3.57% boys and 9.46% girls), 5.38% of the children read books (2.98% boys and 8.11% girls), 2.85% of children turn to other activities (4.17% boys and 1.35% girls). Conclusion: A large number of children use the internet. A large number of children spend more than an hour every day on the internet, girls more often than boys. Teens often do not sleep regularly, girls more often, and also neglect their school and family responsibilities, boys do it more often. A very large number of children have a profile on Facebook, and often have profiles on other social networks at the same time. Boys often have one profile on Facebook, but girls have more profiles at different networks. A very large number of children report to have acquired new 'real friends' owing to the internet. They use the internet rather for fun than for learning. Most children spend their free time on the internet. A less number of children do sports and that is more often done by boys and fewer children spend time with family and friends and that is often done by girls. The least amount of time is spent reading books and watching TV and it is more often done by girls. Preventive activities should be directed at prevention of internet addiction.